Name: _____________________
Date: ___________
Imperialism: Hawaii, China, Philippines
Overview
So, as an overview, in this lesson, we are covering a diverse amount of
influences of imperialism. Imperialism is when a nation works to expand its
power and influence. The two primary methods of imperialism are military
conquest and political diplomacy. The four affected areas we will talk about
are: Hawaii, China, Japan and the Philippines.
1. Define Imperialism.
Hawaii
Believe it or not, the president of the U.S. wanted Hawaii to retain its
sovereignty. It was basically taken over by a business leader who controlled
the American fruit industry!
In 1849, Hawaii became a protectorate of the U.S. This happened through
economic treaties. These treaties led to a buildup of American business
people operating in Hawaii. Over time, these business people pressured the
king to limit voting rights to wealthy land-owners. Most of these people were
foreigners. From this time on, the Hawaiian legislature was pretty much
dominated by foreign influence.
The Bayonet Constitution: In 1887, the American, European and elite
Hawaiian natives in the Hawaiian government passed a new constitution,
stripping the monarchy of its power. They used military force to make the
king sign it.
Queen Lili'uokalani: After her brother's death, Queen Lili'uokalani ascended
to the throne in 1891, and in response to her people, she started to work on
a new constitution for Hawaii, which would restore the veto power of the
monarchy. It would also give voting rights back to the disenfranchised, poor
native Hawaiians. Basically, prominent American and European business
people, most prominently, Sanford B. Dole, who didn't want to lose control,
seized power and had the Queen imprisoned. These business people
wanted Hawaii annexed to the U.S. This would get rid of taxes on goods
from Hawaii and make a lot of money for Dole and his cohorts. Hawaii had
enjoyed a tariff-free, favored trade status through a treaty signed in 1875.
When the McKinley Tariff went through in 1890, it drastically raised the price
of imports.
The Republic of Hawaii was officially established on July 4, 1894. Sanford
B. Dole was the first president. The President of the United States, Grover
Cleveland, and his administration, researched and found that the
overthrowing of Queen Lili'uokalani was illegal, and actually wanted the
Queen returned to power. But, Hawaii became a protectorate of the United
States and in 1897, under President McKinley, was made an American
Territory.
China
Through much of the 19th century, imperialistic powers were vying for
financial dominance in China, most notably France, Germany, Britain, Italy,
Japan, Russia and, of course, the U.S. The U.S. began to worry that their
financial interests were in jeopardy. So, the U.S. Secretary of State, John
Hay, contacted the nations involved and asked for an agreement that all
these powers have equal access to China. This is known as the Open Door
2. Who wrote the constitution of 1887, and why
is it called the Bayonet Constitution?
3. What did Queen Lili’uokalani wish to change
about the constitution of 1887?
4. How did American business leaders, like
Sanford Dole, respond to the Queen’s
constitutional reforms?
5. Why was it important to Dole that Hawaii
should be annexed?
6. When did Hawaii become an American
Territory?
7. What was the Open Door Policy?
Policy. Notice in all of this, the party that was not engaged was the
Chinese. There were pro-Western Chinese, but many were not happy about
these foreign powers doing as they wished in their home country.
The Boxer Rebellion: A group of Chinese nationalists, the Righteous
Harmony Society, fed up with foreign imperialists and Christianity intruding
on their homeland, began to grow! At first the Dowager Empress who ruled
China did not back the Boxers, but in time the Chinese government
basically secretly worked with the Boxers in an attempt to remove foreign
invaders. The Society members were referred to as Boxers because of their
vigorous physical and martial arts training.
The foreign powers came together with an international force and brutally
crushed the Boxers. Even though the Boxers were basically destroyed, they
had one major accomplishment. The Boxer Rebellion created a swell of
Chinese nationalism. Because of the Boxers, many Chinese nationalists
continued to fight the imperial powers.
The Philippines
Moving on to the Philippines, this is one island nation that was not new to
imperialism! This archipelago was under Spanish rule since the 16th
century! It is even named for King Philip II of Spain! From the beginning of
American imperialism, the U.S. didn't really have their eyes on the
Philippines. In the midst of the Spanish-American War, the U.S. engaged
the Spanish fleet in the Philippines. After defeating the Spanish fleet,
American ships first docked in the Philippines.
Completely separate from the Spanish-American War, Filipinos had
engaged in their own revolution in the 1890s. Under the leadership of Emilio
Aguinaldo, they were fighting for their independence. Following the concept
that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, the U.S. aided the Filipinos in
their rebellion. Then, with the Treaty of Paris, which ended the SpanishAmerican War, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States.
Much to the surprise of at least some of the Filipinos, the U.S. did not
recognize the First Philippine Republic, the government established by
Aguinaldo. The Philippine-American War followed. The Buffalo Soldiers, made
up of African-Americans soldiers, were a large portion of the U.S. forces in the
war. The total number of Filipinos killed in the war is very large, but estimates
vary. In the end, the U.S. came out on top and the First Republic of the
Philippines was dissolved. The United States maintained control of the island
nation. It was 1946 before the Philippines gained independence.
8. Who was NOT included in the creation of the
Open Door Policy?
9. Why did the Chinese government secretly
support the Boxer rebellion?
10. How did foreign powers (including the
U.S.) react to the Boxer Rebellion?
11. Who had taken control of the Philippines
in the 16th century?
12. Why did the U.S. decide to support
Filipino independence from Spain?
13. When Spain lost the Spanish-American
War, what did they cede to the U.S?
14. Why were Filipino people surprised that
the U.S. didn’t recognize the First
Phillippine Republic?
Essential Question: Was American Expansion oversees Justifiable?
Directions: Find evidence from the reading to support the following claim and counterclaim
15. Claim: American expansion was justifiable.
16. Counterclaim: American expansion was NOT justifiable.